| 39 “We’re now breeding an animal that’s commercially focused on maximum output of lambs and growth, out of a moderate ewe and without compromising core structural and constitutional traits. Core health traits of worm resistance and facial eczema tolerance are still at the forefront of our breeding program.” RURAL PEOPLE » Piquet Hill Farms Ltd Piquet Hill Farms flourishing genetics Richard Loader Will Jackson and his partner Nicola Bradsheet own and operate Piquet Hill Farms, a multi-generational farming operation set in the summer dry facial eczema (FE) prone area of Te Akau, 35 minutes west of Huntly. The couple take enormous pride and responsibility in being genetics providers for their clients and get huge satisfaction in seeing their genetics flourish in a range of South and North Island environments. Facial eczema has been a focus of the sheep operation for over forty years, producing some of the most FE tolerant sheep genetics available to the market. Will says that as the demands of farmers and end-consumers change, Piquet Hills’ breeding program has evolved with it. “We’re now breeding an animal that’s commercially focused on maximum output of lambs and growth, out of a moderate ewe and without compromising core structural and constitutional traits. Core health traits of worm resistance and facial eczema tolerance are still at the forefront of our breeding program.” In 2018, with the sharp drop in wool prices coupled with increased shearing costs, Will and Nicola were motivated to start developing a high producing self-shedding sheep based around their maternal composite. Acutely aware that they didn’t want to lose all the production gains they had made in fertility, growth and FE resistance, the couple’s focus was on selecting for the same production traits that they do in the rest of their sheep operation, while fusing shedding and haired sheep breeds with the maternal composite. The result has been the development of a low input sheep with locked in FE tolerance and production traits. “The key has been about maintaining focus of our breeding objectives around our primary drivers which are our own commercial profitability, the client’s profitability and deliverables to the end consumer, and balancing these together. It’s easy to produce an animal with incredible data alone and easy to produce an animal selected solely on phenotype and structure. But the real art, and what makes breeding so challenging and fulfilling, is generating an animal that is a balance between the two.” Will and Nicola have defined a two-stage approach to ram selection with lambs being pushed for early growth till mid-February and then maintained and selected for worm resistance, FE tolerance, dag score and body condition through till August. All poor performing animals fall out of the system leaving animals Will and Nicola believe can handle and perform in most environments, selling rams in January on farm through private treaty. The number offered for sale varies between 500 and 600 rams Contact Mike 027 291 2046 mike@nwlivestock.co.nz Silage • Under Sowing • Hay • Cultivation 0223004975 Mow 'N' GrowContracting LTD Servicing Te Akau, Raglan, Te Uku& surrounding areas from year to year, As much as Will is passionate about the genetic side of farming, he says he also enjoys the people side of what he does. “We have about two hundred clients over our whole business; some have been with us for over fifty years. I don’t think we would be farming in the capacity that we are now unless we were doing something along these lines — developing genetics into a product that is marketable and beneficial to the overall industry profitability and sustainability. We get a real kick out of it.” As much as Will is passionate about the genetic side of farming, he says he also enjoys the people side of what he does.
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